Lickerin for carding machines



Sept. 14, 1965 F. REITERER 3,205,537

LIGKERIN FOR CARDING MACHINES Filed March 12, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER his ATTORNEYS Sept. 14, 1965 F. REITERER LICKERIN FOR CARDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 12, 1962 INVENTOR- FERDINAND REITERER BY 6 jiz wgpwad his ATTORNEYS Sept. 14, 1965 F. REITERER LICKERIN FOR GARDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 12, 1962 INVENTOR.

FERDINAND REITERER his ATTORNEYS Sept. 14, 1965 F. REITERER LICKERIN FOR CARDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 12, 1962 @N a Q.N b l 5 n IQ wow 3.. IQ} HN HH H H N A m #E 2 5 E 2 1 l| M Fllll lllll l l l I l l I I ||1 mm not INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER BY 6 5% M his ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,205,537 LICKERIN FDR (ZARDENG MACli-HNES Ferdinand Reiterer, Rueil-Malmatson, France, assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 178,969 Claims priority, application France, Mar. 25, 1961, 856,820 9 Claims. (Cl. 19-105) This invention relates to lickerin devices in machines for carding textile fibers or the like and, more particularly to a new and improved lickerin arranged to provide better cleaning and combing action than is possible with conventional lickerins.

Heretofore, lickerin devices for carding machines have comprised a rotating cylinder provided with a toothed clothing and arranged to carry a web of fibers from a feed roll to a main carding cylinder or swift past a cleaning knife which scrapes the outer surface of the web to remove relatively large impurities therefrom. Ordinarily, except where the cleaning knife is located, a screen is mounted adjacent to the surface of the lickerin to prevent the fibers from being thrown off the clothing teeth by centrifugal force.

With the conventional lickerin arrangement, only the impurities at the outer surface of the web are removed by the cleaning knife and there is relatively little combing effect. Moreover, the capacity of the usual lickerin is limited because the rotational speed must be kept at a relatively low value to prevent damage to the fibers and, if the fibers are supplied to the lickerin at an increased rate, the combing and cleaning action is inhibited.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lickerin arrangement for carding machines which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of conventional devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lickerin arrangement of the above character especially adapted to produce increased combing and cleaning action.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lickerin arrangement capable of operating with improved efliciency and at a greater capacity than conventional lickerin devices.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing, in a carding machine having a fiber feeding device and a main carding cylinder, a lickerin arrangement comprising a first cylinder rotatable adjacent to the feeding device and the main carding cylinder, a housing forming a chamber in conjunction with the surface of the first cylinder between the feeding device and the main cylinder, and a second cylinder rotatably supported within the housing to collect fibers therein and carry them back to the first cylinder surface. Preferably the lickerin housing also includes a deflector adjacent to the first cylinder to deflect fibers away from its surface and a feed plate adajacent to the second cylinder to assist in reforming the fibers into a lap on the second cylinder surface. In addition, the arrangement includes a first cleaning knife between the feeding device and the housing and a second cleaning knife between the housing and the main card cylinder to scrape impurities from the surface of the web carried by the first cylinder, both in its original condition and after it has been reformed. Also, the second cylinder, in its preferred form, has a perforated periphery and is provided with internal suction to assist in collecting the fibers within the housing while, if desired, a blowing device may be mounted within the housing to direct a stream of air toward the second cylinder to carry fibers toward it.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will "ice be apparent from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal vertical section through a portion of a carding machine illustrating a representative lickerin arranged according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 1 showing a modified form of lickerin according to the invention;

FIG. 3A is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 illustrating the suction and blowing apparatus; and

FIG. 3B is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3A.

In the representative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, a lap 1 of fibers to be carded is carried from a supply la to a main carding drum or swift 1b by a rotating feed roll 2 moving adjacent to a feed plate 3 and by a rotating lickerin cylinder 4 provided with a toothed clothing 4a which moves adjacent to the feed roll and to the surface of the swift. As in conventional lickerin devices, a cleaning knife 5 is mounted adjacent to the clothing 4a of the lickerin cylinder so as to scrape the outer surface of the web of fibers carried thereby and remove relatively large impurities 6.

According to the present invention, however, the lickerin arrangement also includes a second cylinder 7, similar to the feed roll 2, rotatably supported adjacent to a second feed plate 8, a housing 9 being arranged in conjunction with the feed plate 8 and the lickerin cylinder 4 to form a chamber enclosing the second cylinder 7. Moreover, another cleaning knife 10 is mounted intermediate the second feed plate 8 and the swift to scrape further impurities from a reconstituted fiber web carried between those two members by the clothing 4a, while a screen 11 of the usual type is disposed adjacent to the clothing 4a between the knife 10 and the swift.

Because of the peripheral speed of the primary lickerin cylinder 4, fibers carried by this cylinder are detached by centrifugal force from the clothing 4a after passing the knife 5 and are scattered into the housing 9, and to assist the detachment of fibers, a deflector 12 is mounted within the housing. In addition, the secondary cylinder 7 has a perforated outer surface and the interior of this cylinder is connected to a suction device so that the chamber formed by the housing 9 is maintained at a reduced pressure and fibers are drawn away from the clothing M by the current of air passing therefrom into the chamber. Furthermore, the internal suction draws the fibers within the chamber toward the cylinder 7 as an aid in reconstituting the fiber web.

In operation, the lap 1 of fibers is transported from tte supply In across the feed plate 3 to the lickerin clothing 4a by rotation of the feed roll 2 in the direction of the arrow. After impurities 6 have been removed by the scraping knife 5 from the outer surface of the Web carried at this point by the lickerin clothing, a substantial proportion of the fibers is withdrawn from the clothing and scattered into the chamber formed by the housing 9 by centrifugal force and by the reduced pressure in the chamber. Inasmuch as the proportion of the fibers projected'into the housing 91 depends in part on the centrifugal force provided 'by rotation of the cylinder 4, this proportion can be varied, if desired, by adjusting the rotational speed of this cylinder. Suction from within the secondary cylinder 7 draws the fibers to its surface and, as this cylinder rotates, the fibers are compressed between it and the secondary feed plate 8 so that the fiber web is reconstituted and transferred to the clothing 4a with a different arrangement of the fibers than previously. Inasmuch as the portion of the chamber enclosed by the deflector 12, the secondary cylinder 7, and

the second feed .plate 8 is substantially isolated by these elements, there is no flow of air from this portion into the cylinder 7 which would tend to hold the reconstituted web on the surface of the cylinder 7 and, therefore, the web can be withdrawn easily by the clothing of the cylinder 4 as it moves adjacent to the feed plate 8. If desired, however, an internal baffle may obviously be mounted inside the cylinder 7 adjacent to this region in arrangements which do not provide isolation of the region in the manner shown in FIG. 1.

At the same time, dust, small impurities and very short fibers are drawn through the perforated surface of the secondary cylinder 7, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1, thereby purifying the web. Any large impurities which were previously embedded in the web, so as to be inaccessible to the scraper 5, and which appear at the outer sunface of the reconstituted web, are removed by the second scraper 10 after which the web is carried to the swift 1b and transferred to the clothing thereof in the usual manner. With this arrangement, the lickerin can convey larger quantities of fibers at higher speeds while providing a greater cleaning and combing action than the conventional lickerin devices.

In certain cases, depending on the exact construction of the housing '9, fibers may tend to become trapped within the housing so as to inhibit uniform flow from the clothing 4a to the surface of the secondary cylinder 7. Accordingly, the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B is adapted to avoid this difficulty and to assure a uniform flow of fibers. To this end, as shown in FIG. 2, an air blowing outlet 13 connected to a source of air under pressure is mounted within the housing 9 and formed within openings 14 which are disposed .to direct a stream of air across the bottom surface of the chamber toward the secondary cylinder 7 and, if desired, the direction and intensity of the air from the outlet openings may be adjustable. Except for the outlet 13, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is identical in structure and operation to that of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the air supplyin system comprises a motor 15 driving a fan 16 within a housing 17, a filter screen 18 being positioned so as to intercept all the air flowing toward the fan. Dampers 19 control the flow of air from the fan through two ducts 20 to the outlet device 13, while two further ducts 21 withdraw air from the interior of the cylinder 7 and carry it back to the housing 17. Preferably, the second cylinder 7 is driven from the feed roll 2 by a chain 22, as illustrated in FIG. 3B.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the present invention provides a new and improved lickerin arrangement which is not only capable of processing larger quantifies of fiber material and operating at higher speeds and with greater cleaning and combing efficiency than conventional devices, but also is adapted for use with any conventional carding machine by merely substituting it for a portion of the usual screen mounted below the lickerin cylinder.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments, many modifications and variation-s therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for processing fibrous material, a lickerin arrangement comprising a first rotatable cylinder having an outer surface adapted to carry a web of fibers from a first location adjacent to its periphery to a second and recombine them into a lap, and feed plate means adjacent to the second cylinder to direct the reconstituted lap back to the periphery of the first cylinder, and means within the housing means for removing additional fibers from the first rotatable cylinder.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second cylinder has a perforated periphery and including suction means connected to the interior of the second cylinder to draw air inwardly through the perforated periphery.

3. In apparatus for processing fibrous material, a lickerin arrangement comprising a first rotatable cylinder having an outer surface adapted to carry a web of fibers from a first location adjacent to its periphery to a second location adjacent to its periphery, housing means enclosing a portion of the periphery of the first cylinder between the first and second locations forming a chamber to receive fibers from the peripheral surface of the first cylinder, a second rotatable cylinder mounted within the housing means to collect the fibers within the chamber and recombine them into a lap and feed plate means adjacent to the second cylinder to direct the reconstituted lap back to the periphery of the first cylinder, the second cylinder being disposed with its surface closer to the feed plate means than to the housing means, a first cleaning knife mounted adjacent to the periphery of the first cylinder between the first location and the chamber and a second cleaning knife mounted adjacent to the periphery of the first cylinder between the chamber and the second location.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 including a screen adjacent to the periphery of the first cylinder extending between the second cleaning knife and the second location.

5. In apparatus for processing fibrous material, a lickerin arrangement comprising a first rotatable cylinder having an outer surface adapted to carry a web of fibers from a first location adjacent to its periphery to a second location adjacent to its periphery, housing means enclosing a portion of the periphery of the first cylinder between the first and second locations forming a chamber to receive fibers from the peripheral surface of the first cylinder, a second rotatable cylinder mounted within the housing means to collect the fibers within the chamber and recombine them into a lap and feed plate means adjacent to the second cylinder to direct the reconstituted lap back to the periphery of the first cylinder, the second cylinder being disposed 'with its surface closer to the feed plate means than to the housing means, and deflector means within the housing means and adjacent to the periphery of the first cylinder to assist in removing fibers therefrom. 6. In apparatus for processing fibrous material, a licker- 1n arrangement comprising a first rotatable cylinder havlng an outer surface adapted to carry a web of fibers from a first location adjacent to its periphery to a second location adjacent to its periphery, housing means enclosing a portion of the periphery of the first cylinder between the first and second locations forming a chamber to receive fibers from the peripheral surface of the first cylinder, a second rotatable cylinder mounted within the housing means to collect the fibers within the chamber andrecom'bine them into a lapand feed plate means adjacent to the second cylinder to direct the reconstituted lap back to the periphery of the first cylinder, the second cylinder being disposed with its surface closer to the feed plate means than to the housing means, and blowing means mounted within the housing means and connected to a source of air under pressure having an outlet opening oriented to direct air toward the second cylinder.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 6 including means for supplying air under pressure to the blowing means,

and means for varying the quantity of air supplied to the blower means.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the periphery of the second cylinder is perforated and the means for supplying air comprises fan means having an intake connected to provide suction to the interior of the second cylinder.

9. Apparatus for carding textile fibers comprising a swift, a rotatable feed roll, a first feed plate adjacent to the feed roll, and a lickerin arrangement including a first cylinder having a peripheral surface movable adjacent to the feed roll and the surface of the swift to transport fibers from the feed roll to the swift, a housing enclosing a portion of the peripheral surface of the first cylinder forming a chamber therewith to receive fibers from the peripheral surface of the first cylinder, a second rotatable cylinder mounted within the housing to collect the fibers within the chamber and recombine them into a lap, a second feed plate adjacent to the second cylinder to direct the reconstituted lap back to the peripheral surface of the first cylinder, a first cleaning knife mounted adjacent to the periphery of the first cylinder between the feed roll and the housing, and a second cleaning knife mounted adjacent to the periphery of the first cylinder between the second feed plate and the swift.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 41,487 2/64 Craven 19--156.4 X 2,532,330 2/ 45 Ram'sde1l 19107 X 3,144,685 8/64 Aoki 19-105 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,252,286 12/60 France. 1,255,061 1/61 France.

229,787 3/25 Great Britain.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN APPARATUS FIR PROCESSING FIBROUS MATERIAL, A LICKERIN ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A FIRST ROTATABLE CYLINDER HAVING AN OUTER SURFACE ADAPTED TO CARRY A WEB OF FIBERS FROM A FIRST LOCATTION ADJACENT TO ITS PERIPHERY TO A SECOND LOCATION ADJACENTT TO ITS PERIPHERY, HOUSING MEANS ENCLOSING A PORTION OF THE PERIPHERY OF THE FIRST CYLINDER BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND LOCATIONS FORMING A CHAMBER TO RECEIVE FIBERS FROM THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF THE FIRST CYLINDER, A SECOND ROTATABLE CYLINDER MOUNTED WITHIN THE HOUSING MEANS TO COLLECT THE FIBERS WITHIN THE CHAMBER AND RECOMBINE THEM INTO A LAP, AND FEED PLATE MEANS 